Welcome back, ladies and gents. Today's column is a doozy. As expected, I recieved a plentitude of letters in response to good ol' Stevie's letter wishing death upon the Final Fantasy series. More interestingly, though, is that some people did agree with a few of his points this time. I also have to say, I'm very pleased with the number of questions people came up with for me, and good ones too. Answering them thar questions is what I'm here for. So don't feel bad picking my brain, nay I encourage it! Pick that brain like a kindergartner would pick his... I'll just stop. This is usually where Allan would go off into a humorous rant about some hot topic in the news, but since I am pretty much the most unobservant man alive and never have any idea what's going on in the world around me, I haven't a thing to say concerning actual life. The real world pretty much leaves me be ever since I threw that worm at it in third grade. Time for the letters. | A special gift from me to you, with nothin' but love | Um, you posted my letter in the Saturday column (the vampire letter). I did not sign it, though, and now I notice that you added the words "Captain Crunch" to the end of my letter. My name's not captain crunch. What's up with that? -Captain Crunch |
Sorry about that, but you've fallen prey to one of my little policies. For those who are unable to come up with a nickname to put in their letter, I kindly provide one for them. Sure I could just put "Name not given" or "unknown", but thinking up nicknames for people is just too much fun! It's the Letter Guy equivalent of whistling while you work. Unfortunately, coming up with nicknames isn't always easy. So, I decided to go ahead and help make the world an easier and more enjoyable place with the creation of Drew's Amazing Nickname Creator! Just click that little button until you get a nickname you're happy with, and voila! Now you're a badass, nickname totin' beast. Oh, for those of you who wondered if I have too much time on my hands, that should answer your question. Chalk that up as another inquiry adequately answered. | Translations and such | Hey, just a couple of quick questions about the impending release of the Final Fantasy Anthology for Playstation: 1. Is Square re-translating FF6, or just using the same translation as the SNES version? I heard certain mature themes were edited by Nintendo in their translation, so I'm hoping that this release will be completely uncensored. |
Square's going to go with Ted Woolsey and gang's original translation, thank them lucky stars. 2. What about FF5? From what I understand, it had nearly been completely translated when it was canned for being "too hard" for Americans. Later, Nintendo planned on releasing it anyway as "Final Fantasy Extreme", or some other lame title, but that was dropped, too. Will any of this earlier translation work make it into the PS release? -Unidentified Floating Orange |
Apparently, there was a semi-completed translation for the PC that Square probably finished up for the Anthology. That's just an estimated guess, though, since just how far along the PC translation was will be one of the Universe's great mysteries unto time indefinate. Or until you ask Mister Owl. Watch out though, he bites. | Get a dang thesaurus, you backhills little troll! | Drew, Inquiry, or query work. Also, inquest and inquisition. See also Interrogation.that's all I can think of.. -Wulfgang |
I seriously need to get a thesaurus one of these days. I bet that topic really got you pissed until you realized it was directed at my own self, heh heh heh. | Why seperate knob... why?! | My riddle-ridden mind has been wondering something for some time. Whydid Sega continue with the Dreamcast's production, if Sony's monster wasso much more powerful. They must have knew about it ahead of time, howcouldn't they ? I'm sure they begged square to develop for the Dreamcastbefore it came out, who obvious turned them down to the prospect of agreater system. With that clue, why did they continue ? -Not the Momma |
Well, by that logic Sega should have crapped their Dockers at the first glimpse of the Super Nintendo and dropped the Genesis like a hot rock covered in mucus. But, as history has shown us, they didn't and gave Nintendo a serious run for the money. And then they released the 32x followed (too) closely thereafter by the good ol' Saturn. Sega is its own worst enemy. Oh, I also realize that topic has pretty much nothing to do with the actual letter, but I felt this column hadn't been getting the FDA's recommended intake of Seinfeld quotes. | A whole bunch of good questions | Mister DA: Okay, this is a question letter. I thought of saying something about Mr. Gohan, but this time decided it isn't worth it. Besides, anyone I'd want to convince most likely knows all the arguments anyway. 1) With all this talk about the (alleged) re-release of Lunar:SSSC, and the impending re-release of Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, there's one obvious question. Are there plans to develop a Lunar 3? And if not, is there somewhere we fans can write to make our voice heard? Years ago, I paid $30 on a $10/2wk allowance to play that game, (On the original Sega CD, which I had to rent,) and loved every minute of it. I'd sell relatives and organs for a crack at a third installment! |
According to a top secret informant, Lunar 3 is in fact in the works, and will make use live action FMV and be shot entirely on the moon. George Clooney plays the role of Ruby. Okay, I need to drink substantially less coffee before writing these things. Anyway, yeah, the game is coming sometime in the near future from Game Arts, but pretty much nothing is known about it. 2) When Sony announced that the PS2 will be backwards compatible, I assumed that would allow developers to continue to finish games already in development without fear of losing their consumer base, since those games would still be viable for the newer system. Then along comes Natsume to tell me that my beloved Lufia III is coming out for GBC, a system I've never had, never wanted to have, and never...well, you get the idea. The reason they give is exactly what I thought was not supposed to happen: a newer system which their game was not ready for. This makes no sense to me. Am I crazy? |
No, you're not crazy. Brian Glick, resident GIA writer extraordinaire nearly punched a hole in the screen of his iMac when he found about that. It does make sense, though. The Playstation is losing support slowly but surely as developers migrate to The Next Big Thing as far as consoles go, and when the PS2 is release, people are going to want games for it that are a substantial leap above the games they've been playing, not just games that take advantage of the system's backwards compatibility. The Gameboy ain't going anywhere any time soon, making it the safest platform to develop for. Isn't that ironic? Don't you think? 3) You mentioned a remake of the older Sega systems for reduced price on Sunday. Where could I find one of those? I'd always wanted to play some of those older Sega RPGs... |
Majesco re-released the original Genesis and a bunch of games for it for 30 dollars (20 if you can find it on sale) and 10 dollars a piece, respectively. I've seen them up at Toys R Us and Babbages. The Genesis re-release is really pretty cool, too, it's barely larger than the size of the game carts themselves. I'm tempted to pick one up just for the coolness factor. 4) Are there multiple endings for Legend of Legaia? All throughout the game, there were questions which, when answered, had no immediate effect on the story, and the ending was not what I expected it to be. Is there more than one way to finish the game? |
There is more than one ending, but unfortunately I can't give you the exact number of endings there are. Anybody out there happen to know? 5) What's the connection between RPGamer and the GIA? I've seen cross-references, but never the whole story. |
The only connection RPGamer and the GIA share is the fact that we've had a few of the same employees between us and we both cover RPGs, although the GIA covers other genres as well. That and we're in a moonshine smuggling racket together. | Momma's Boy | If you had to choose between living the rest of life with worms as hair,or having your name be "I'm a mama's boy", what would you choose? Why? -Metal Babble |
Mamma's boy, definitely. I could lie about my name or have it legally changed, but explaining a bunch of worms crawling around on my noggin would be kind of tough to play low key. Okay, here it comes. The replies to Stephan's letter. This column would be enough at this point for most guys, but not me! No sirree Bob, I like to give the people what they pay for. Think of this as my way of making up for those blasted banners. Despite his abrasive way of expressing his opinions, there were some good points Mister Gohan made. When is an RPG not an RPG, but just an interactive cinema? Let's see what you guys had to say. As per usual in this sort of situation, I'll keep my personal comments minimal. | All in favor, say "Aye" | Heyya, hopefully the weekend guy will see my name this time. Anyway, again, Stephen Gohan sees truth in some stuff. While I agree that beautiful graphics take away from the game, I'm still not convinced that not having a plot altogether is a good thing. You have to have a reason for playing, after all. Level building isn't the only draw to an RPG. One good example of perfect plot is PokŽmon. You are a kid, you have a goal, and it involves mindlessly leveling up so you can beat the crap out of things with greater ease. You have a rival, which you want to squash out of existance, and that's part of why you are mindlessly leveling up. I like Final Fantasy 2 (I live in America, and I'm gonna call it by it's American name, a-ight?) because while there was a plot, it was easily ignored, unlike most RPGs out today which change the Bad Guy every hour or so of gameplay (COUGH*XENOGEARS*COUGH COUGH). My ideal plot would have a few twists, but not very twisty ones, and a maximum of one Major Villian change. An example of this would be Final Fantasy 2 (IV Japan), where the main villian is Golbez until you find out he's just a pawn (Uh oh, Spoiler!). Then you go beat a villian you've never even HEARD of, and the world is saved, blah blah blah, short ending that wraps the bland plot up for anyone who'd care, and yaaaaay, you've just beaten the game. Now do it again, but this time, keep a look out for God-killer-weapons and Mega-nuke-spells, and don't beat the game until you get 'em. There's a game I'd buy. Jeff "I wrote this!" Cox |
There's something pure about the simple RPGs of yore. After all, 50 bucks is one steep price to pay for a movie ticket, don't you think? | I remember those disgusting, filthy little slimes fondly | Mr. Gohan, though he did present his opinions in a somewhat abrasive manner, does have an intriguing point. At what point does a game become just a fancy movie? I don't ascribe to his theory that the less story, the better, since in comparing FF1 to FF2 (US), I find myself enjoying the story of Cecil, Rosa, and of course that oh so loveable, treacherous, Kain. I must say that the only reason I would buy an RPG over another is for a good story. That, I think, is one of the reasons Square maintains such a lead in their fan base. It is a great deal like buying books. If you buy a book, and you really really love it, then you'll be a lot more inclined to buy more books by that author, and might even go out of your way to find other works of his (or hers). On the other hand, there is something great to be said for creative freedom. I still fondly remember the first Dragon Warrior for the Nes (unfortunately, I never played any of the subsequent sequels, but I would love to). Dragon Warrior had all the classics of a fantasy romp in the wilderness, with evil dragons, dragon lords, a princess in distress, and a land in peril. The story was very non intrusive, leaving the player lots of free time and freedom to explore. It had some great points, like the feeling of triumph when you finally rescued the princess, after beating on hapless slimes for hours at a time. Yet, that also leads to the most boring sections of the game, when all you had to do was wander about aimlessly killing off slimes. It's a nebulous line, that divides too much story that takes away the challenge and subsequent feelings of triumph when progress in the game is made, and too little story, which leaves the gamer playing little more then an action game burdened down with extra rules. Personally, I am an avid reader, so I prefer my games wander further over the line into more story (I detested the second half of FFVI, where the plot became so non linear), but if Mr. Gohan wants very little story to accompany his games, I could suggest he could start purchasing "Adventure" or "Action" games. Those might be better to sate his tastes then true RPGs, which have skillful combinations of both storyline and challenge. Patrick |
And there you have it, two people who actually looked past Stephan's abrasive tone to see the underlying logic. Ugh, that was way to complimentary to him. You're an attention whore, Stephan! There, that evens things out. | Yeah, put that in your pipe and smoke it! | (in response to Stephen Gohan's letter) First of all I have to apologize for the the length of this letter. I just had many things I felt obligated to say to rebut Stephen Gohan's letter. 1) I am not going to go into whether or not the Final Fantasy series is going corrupt, sour, or whatever you want to call it. If you, Mr. Gohan, believe that, that's fine. But what does it matter? If you don't enjoy the Final Fantasy games anymore, then don't play them! Nobody is forcing you to play these games. 2) What right do you have to define what an RPG is? An RPG is something different to each and every RPG player. Saying that someone is not an RPG player because that person does not agree with you is absolutely ludicrous. The RPG genre itself has been, is, and always will be changing until we no longer have the need for such games (which may never be). If you just cannot accept the changes that have occurred lately, then don't. But don't then go around saying how much you are right and everyone else is wrong. 3) Finally, I would just like to say something very important to you, Mr. Gohan. You make very valid points and many many people would listen to you if you would only state your opinion politely, honestly, and with facts to back it up. Insulting others and acting as if your opinion is the only one on Earth is not going to gather much of a following. I would now like to say something very important that I think more people should do at the very end of their letters. This letter is My Humble Opinion and is not now the law of the land. Stephen Gohan has his opinion. You may agree with me, him, or have a completely different take on the argument. Oh, and for all of you who have been waiting patiently to for my email address to flame me, here it is: xenofan@netscape.net. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. -Someone who has a very humble opinion |
True, nobody's making him Mister Gohan play these games. But I'll let this next letter do the talking for me. | Nobody's forcing you to play | Bleh. The debate Gohan brings up has to be one of the most annoying andfoolish arguments out there...As cliche and silly as it sounds: If youdon't like it, don't do it. There are plenty of RPGs out there that are non-linear. Please. As muchas it grates my Square Fanatic side to say this, there are other gamesout there besides Square's :P And for the record, I don't call myself an RPGamer. I call myself aGamer. -Ian P. |
That's my good buddy Ian. Short, sweet, and amazingly adept at getting his letters printed. And now for the final letter of the day. | (I think he's mad) | Bleh. Okay, Kids gloves off (this guy REALLY pisses me off with his ranting) Well Mr. Gohan if that is your real name (which I doubt) I would like topoint out a few ways you just made yourself look stupid (not from anAmerican point of view but a Chinese point of view): 1. FMV - I agree that FMV should not be the game but in RPGs theyaren't! What do you mean that RPGs are going to be fifty percent of thegame!? By my count there are only at most two hours in Final Fantasy 7and approx. three hours in eight! Now compare that to about sixty toninety hours of gaming (in Final Fantasy 7 with no strategy guide, nocodes, and collecting everything) and that works out to only at most 5percent. Gee guess you failed math grade 7? 2. Story - Let me quote you: "Why in heckwould I want somebody else's personality and story where Icould imagine my own? All that show is lack of imagination -again, what most people in America (where I'm glad Iwasn't born) have. Just as people become slaves to eye candy,they become slaves to story and just sit, watch the storyand nice pictures play out, and get fat." Now what is wrong with what was said? First off - lack of imagination ofthe american people (I'm not from America but reside in Canada and amethnically Chinese so you can't say that I'm an American patriot). Wellisn't the FF series made in Japan? Whoops. Why is this such a bigmistake you ask? If you are going to get ethnic here then I must pointout that just as the Japanese made the FF series, so to did they makeDragon Ball Mr. GOHAN (making your stupid online name after the worst ofall the Sons). Not only that but it takes a lot of reading to pass an RPG. If you havesomething against stories then you have something against reading. Next time be more educated and witty when you try and piss people off. Jesse |
Just as there will always be more moderates then those of the lunatic fringe, the world rotates around the good old happy medium. Closing Comments Yow, I'm shot. I'm off for now, enjoy that goofy little nickname thing I cooked up, and stay cool. Remember, send Allan your debates, and me your questions. Heh heh heh. Adios. - Drew Cosner | | | |
